Stablecoin issuers were hit with an injunction last week by European regulators, as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) took effect partially on June 1. In line with that ask to register in any nation in the bloc to continue issuing stablecoins in the EU, Circle has secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in France. This will allow it to issue USDC and its new Europe-centred stablecoin EURC.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire posted on X about this development, “@Circle announces that USDC and EURC are now available under new EU stablecoin laws; Circle is the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA. Circle is now natively issuing both USDC and EURC to European customers effective July 1st.”
This move puts Circle ahead of the largest stablecoin issuer, Tether. Its stablecoin, USDT, is the most widely used and issued and is the clear leader by those metrics. Now, Circle can disrupt the stablecoin sector by gaining the first-comers advantage, pushing its EURC token to users from 21 nations in the bloc.
Circle’s decision to make France its operational base comes from the country driving the implementation of crypto regulations in the EU and thus pushing the sector’s development.
Allaire spoke about Circle’s choice to register in France, “As many people know, France was – and continues to be – at the forefront of establishing clear regulations around crypto and digital assets, with early French laws regulating crypto trading firms, crypto custody and rules for issuing and selling digital tokens.”
He feels the decision to establish Circle in France has been great so far. “That choice has proven wise – we have been able to work extremely hard over the past two years with the ACPR to bring Circle’s business into the EU and under the new comprehensive regulatory regime of MiCA.”
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